Summer Workshop Programme

Please note, the standard entry fee still applies to all events - even those marked as free.

Tuesday 30th July: Rebecca Rose - Stained-glass window craft workshop. 11am-4pm. FREE. 

Throw some colour onto the summer sunshine and join artist, Rebecca Rose, to explore the intricate patterns, vivid colours, and complex designs of Ushaw's beautiful stained-glass windows and have a go at designing and creating your own. 

Wednesday 31st July/Thursday 1st August: Snow and Crow - Printmaking workshop (in partnership with Age UK) 11am - 4pm. FREE. 

Helen and Alan Holcroft (AKA Snow and Crow) are part of Ushaw's growing community of resident artists. In these workshops they will guide you through the process of designing, carving and printing original and intricate lino cut prints inspired by Ushaw's unique history, the natural world and popular culture. For artists of all ages, you are never too old or young to learn to use a printing press. 

Friday 2nd/Saturday 3rd/Friday 23rd August: North East Meccano Society - Engineering workshop (in partnership with Age UK) 11am - 4pm. FREE.

To celebrate the opening of artist Mat Collishaw's eerie animatronic exhibition The Nerve Rack, the North East Meccano Society are offering you the chance to test your Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths skills by constructing your own moving mechanised animal from the classic model-making kit. Engineers of all ages welcome. 

Tuesday 6th August: Circurama - Circus skills and performance workshop. 

11am - 1pm 

2pm - 4pm. 

£3 for one workshop or £5 for both. Booking required.

Roll up, roll up! Why not return to school with a few new tricks up your sleeve? Learn to juggle, spin plates, balance a feather on your nose, or even ride a unicycle! Join us for a completely unique way to learn brand new skills, explore balance, rhythm, timing, hand-eye co-ordination, and develop your confidence, dexterity, and performance skills. 

Wednesday 7th August: Science at Ushaw - Cyanotypes workshop. 11am - 4pm. FREE. 

How do you take a photograph without a camera, make art using only the power of the sun, and separate an object from its own shadow? Learn how to make these strange and beautiful photographic prints and create a ghostly blue image that appears out of nowhere before your eyes. 

Wednesday 14th August: Dawn Belshaw - Leaf art and flower pounding craft workshop. (in partnership with Age UK). FREE (visitor's crafts available for purchase). Booking required. 

Take full advantage of the summer and explore Ushaw's stunning grounds and gardens with artist Dawn Belshaw. Collect examples of the magnificent shapes, wonderful colours, and intricate patterns present in the natural world, and the turn the things that you have found into beautiful gifts...by smashing them with a hammer! Creative and destructive types of all ages are welcome. 

Thursday 15th/Friday 16th August: Science at Ushaw - Robotics workshop. 11am - 4pm. FREE.

Just how easy is it to program a robot as complicated as The Nerve Rack? Try your hand at coding, build a scribble bot and let it loose to create some chaotic artwork, investigate electricity by constructing a squishy circuit, and release your inner mad scientist by destroying a cuddly toy and bringing it back to life!

Tuesday 20th August: Tony Gadd - Poetry performance workshop.
10am - 12pm Poetry for Everyone.
1pm - 3pm. Picture This.
£3 for one workshop or £5 for both. Booking required. 

Performer, speaker, educator, and Ushaw's resident poet, Tony Gadd, presents two creative workshops to encourage and enable writers of all ages, from absolute beginners to seasoned storytellers, to find their words and their voice. Explore your own unique poetic voice with our morning session, Poetry for Everyone, and use the fascinating stories, buildings and grounds of Ushaw as inspiration to create and share poetry in our afternoon session, Picture This. Book one session or both. 

Thursday 22nd August: Laura Brenchley - Animal curtain rings craft workshop. 1pm - 3pm. FREE.

Create and decorate your own squad of cute animal friends using wool, felt, and curtain rings with artist, Laura Brenchley. Warning: curtain ring animals may be adorable and their eyes googly. No Knitting, farming, or zookeeping experience necessary.